Apparatus for handling rolls

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for lifting and transporting roll goods such as plastic film, paper, etc., is removably attached to one end of the roll of goods by means of a vacuum.

United States Patent [191 Carpenter Dec. 16, 1975 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ROLLS [75] Inventor: Kenneth B. Carpenter, Terre Haute,

Ind.

[73] Assignee: Ethyl Corporation, Richmond, Va.

[22] Filed: Oct. 1, 1973 [21] Appl. No.2 402,575

[52 us. C1 294/64 R [51] Int. C1. B66C 1/02 [58] Field of Search 294/64 R, 65, 93; 214/650 SG, DIG. 3, DIG. 4; 248/362, 363;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,871,053 1/1959 Richter 294/64 R Dahlquist 294/65 Dalglish 294/64 R Primary Examiner--Richard A. Schacher Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Dona1d L. Johnson; John F. Sieberth; Edgar E. Spielman, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for lifting and transporting r011 goods such as plastic film, paper, etc., is removably attached to one end of the roll of goods by means of a vacuum.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,926,466

FIG. I.

US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,926,466

. II II FIG. 3.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING ROLLS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Manufacturers of materials such as plastic film, paper, sheet metal, etc., which are marketed in rolls are presented with the problem of moving such rolls many times during the manufacture, storage, and marketing of these rolls. Due to the heavy weight of these rolls, apparatuses which are designed for moving the rolls must maintain tight attachment thereto. Present day apparatuses generally achieve such tight attachment by modes which either distort or puncture the roll core with chucking devices or grasp the outside of the roll itself with pincer-type mechanisms. Functional as these apparatuses may be, they suffer one main disadvantage in that they defonn or tear the roll core or the outside of the roll.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which can be tightly attached to a roll of goods so that a lifting force can be communicated thereto without deformation or tearing of the roll.

THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus for lifting a roll of goods which comprises a rigid plate means having a generally planar top and bottom surface, said bottom surface having attached thereto at least two spaced apart annular seal means defining therebetween at least one annular vacuum chamber, said plate being provided with at least one aperture for applying a vacuum to said vacuum chamber; and a connecting means centrally attached to said plate and extending above said top surface for applying a lifting force thereto.

As can be seen from the above, the apparatus of this invention does not utilize mechanisms which puncture, tear or deform the roll core or the goods on the roll. This highly desirable result is achieved by applicants unique apparatus which is able to achieve attachment to the roll of goods by a vacuum which is sufficiently strong enough to allow the goods to be lifted or moved.

This and other features of the invention contributing satisfaction in use and economy in manufacture will be more fully understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of this invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein identical numerals refer to identical parts and in which,

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an embodiment of this invention attached to a roll of goods,

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along sectional lines 22 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a bottom elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 1, it can be seen that roll of goods 26 is removably attached at one end thereof to an apparatus of this invention, indicated generally by the numeral 1. As can be seen in FIG. 1, apparatus 1 includes circular plate and piping 14, 16 and 18, which piping is mounted on the outside face of plate Piping 16 is at one end attached to a vacuum source, not shown, and at the other end to aperture 42, shown in FIG. 3, thus enabling affecting a negative pressure, i.e., at least a partial vacuum, to the inner chamber on the inside face of plate 10. Piping 18 is connected to apertures 36a and 36b, as shown in FIG. 3, thus connecting the inner chamber and the outer chamber, hereinafter described, on the inside face of plate 10 so that a vacuum or negative pressure affected in the first chamber will be communicated to the second chamber. Piping 18 includes valve handle 18a which is utilized to selectively open or close piping 18. When piping 18 is opened, an at least partial vacuum can be communicated from the inner-chamber to the outer chamber. Piping 14 is utilized to relieve the negative pressure 0 when it is desired to remove apparatus 1 from roll of goods 26. Release of the negative pressure is obtained by simply opening a valve in piping 14 by means of valve handle 14a and allowing air from the outside to fill the evacuated chambers through aperture 38, shown in FIG. 3, to which piping 14 is connected.

Also attached to plate 10 and mounted on the outer face thereof is vacuum gauge 20 which connects with aperture 40 which is shown in FIG. 3 for measuring the extent of vacuum achieved.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is eye bolt 22 which is attached to plate 10 and which is utilized to attach chain 24 to plate 10 so that when a lifting force is applied by a winch or a boom (not shown in the drawings) this force will be communicated to roll of goods 26. Other attaching or connecting means may be utilized such as snap latch attached to the plate and a like latch attached to the chain, the exact connection not being critical to the apparatus of this invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be seen that plate 10 has attached to its inside face inner, raised annular vacuum seal 32; intermediate, raised annular vacuum seal 30; outer, raised annular vacuum seal 12; inner, anti-telescoping blocks 44 and outer, anti-telescoping blocks 46. Attachment of these components to the inside face of plate 10 can be achieved by gluing or by screw attachment. Gluing attachment is preferred as there will be no deformation of the components.

Raised annular seals 32, 30 and 12 are concentrically arranged on the inside face of plate 10 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The distance between inner seal 32 and intermediate seal 30 and between intermediate seal 30 and outer seal 12 is preferably a distance such that inner seal 32 contacts approximately the inside circumference of roll of goods 26 and outer seal 12 contacts approximately the outer circumference of roll 26 with intermediate seal 30 being approximately half way between inner seal 32 and outer seal 12. Other distances between seals may also be used as long as a sufficient vacuum can be achieved in the chambers formed by the seals and that portion of plate 10 between the seals to enable attachment to roll 26 when a lifting force sufficient to lift roll 26 is applied.

The raised thickness of seals 32, 30 and 12 should be that thickness which will keep the seals from deforming or tearing when the vacuum is applied and the lifting force engaged. Generally speaking, seals made of resilient plastic or rubber and having a thickness of from about one-fourth inch to about 1 inch are suitable. The width of the seals should be that width which is sufficient to insure that at least a partial vacuum can be formed in the chambers when contacted with roll 26. If the rolled material is a plastic such as polyethylene film, a thickness of from about three-eighths inch to about three-fourths inch is suitable.

Typical materials of which the seals can be made are natural and synthetic rubber, foam rubber, rubber insulation material, polyurethane or other suitable resilient material.

Inner, anti-telescoping blocks 44 fit within the inner chamber formed by inner seal 32, intermediate seal 30 and that portion of plate bounded thereby. Their purpose is to prevent the roll from telescoping towards plate 10 when a vacuum is applied. As shown in FIG. 3, blocks 44 are equidistant apart and alternately contact inner seal 32 and intermediate seal 30. Alternate contact provides air passages 44a so that when a vacuum is applied the air can move freely within the chamber.

Within the outer chamber formed by intermediate seal 30, outer seal 12 and that portion of plate 10 bounded thereby, are outer, anti-telescoping blocks 46. These blocks are equidistant apart and are alternately contacted with outer seal 12 and intermediate seal 30. Their alternate arrangement is for the same purpose as the alternate arrangement of the inner anti-telescoping blocks 44.

Anti-telescoping blocks 44 and 46 do not have a raised thickness as great as the raised thickness of seals 32, 30 and 12 as such a thickness would reduce the area between the seals to which a vacuum may be applied.

Apertures 42, 36a, 36b, 40 and 38 are through plate 10 and are connected to the piping and gauge as hereinbefore described.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, eye bolt 22 passes through plate 10 and is screwed into one end of attaching block 48. Screwed into the opposite end of block 48 is circular cup 34. Circular cup 34 is utilized to aid the operator in symmetrically mounting the apparatus of this invention onto the end of roll 26. Cup 34 is of such diameter that it fits within roll core 28.

In operation, the apparatus of this invention is guided so that as before said, cup 34 fits within roll core 28. After fitting, a vacuum is pulled through piping 16 until gauge 20 indicates that a vacuum sufficient to maintain attachment between the apparatus and the roll has been achieved. While the vacuum is being pulled operating handle 18a is placed in the open position to communicate the vacuum to the outer chamber. After sufficient vacuum is achieved, operating handle 18a is placed in a closed position. By so doing safety in operation is achieved in that two vacuum chambers are independently provided with neither one being dependent upon the other for maintaining the vacuum. At this point a lifting force may be applied through eye bolt 22 thus lifting roll 26. After the roll has been moved to the desired location, valve handles 14a and 18a are placed in the open position thus allowing air to pass through piping l4 and aperture 38 and into the chambers. This passage of air releases the vacuum and the apparatus may be removed from the end of roll of goods 26.

The two-chamber apparatus shown in the drawings is, as before said, only one embodiment of this invention. Apparatuses having only one chamber or more than two chambers are clearly within the scope of this invention. Advantages are realized by having two chambers in that rolls of goods having different diameters may be picked up with the same apparatus. For example, a roll of goods having a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the intermediate seal may be picked up with the illustrated embodiment while at the same time rolls of goods having a diameter approximating the diameter of the outer seal may also be picked up with this same apparatus. If rolls only having a single diameter are to be picked up, an apparatus of this invention having a single chamber is sufficient.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for lifting and transporting a roll of goods having an axial cylindrical opening therethrough, comprising:

a. a rigid plate means having a generally planar top and bottom surface, said bottom surface having attached thereto at least three spaced apart annular seal means defining therebetween at least two annular vacuum chambers, said plate being provided with at least one aperture for applying at least a partial vacuum to said vacuum chamber;

. a plurality of blocking means attached to said plate means between said annular seal means for restricting movement towards said plate of that portion of said goods between said seals when said at least partial vacuum is applied,

c. a centrally mounted cup means attached to the underside of said plate and adapted to be received in said axial opening in said roll of goods, and

d. a connecting means centrally attached to said plate and extending above said top surface for applying a lifting force thereto. 

1. An apparatus for lifting and transporting a roll of goods having an axial cylindrical opening therethrough, comprising: a. a rigid plate means having a generally planar top and bottom surface, said bottom surface having attached thereto at least three spaced apart annular seal means defining therebetween at least two annular vacuum chambers, said plate being provided with at least one aperture for applying at least a partial vacuum to said vacuum chamber; b. a plurality of blocking means attached to said plate means between said annular seal means for restricting movement towards said plate of that portion of said goods between said seals when said at least partial vacuum is applied, c. a centrally mounted cup means attached to the underside of said plate and adapted to be received in said axial opening in said roll of goods, and d. a connecting means centrally attached to said plate and extending above said top surface for applying a liftIng force thereto. 